New Delhi, April 21: Petroleum minister Murli Deora has left for Doha to attend the 10th International Energy Forum ministerial conference where he will take up the issue of skyrocketing crude prices with ministers of oil producing countries.

The three-day conference, attended by oil ministers of 56 countries and six international organisations, is taking place at a time when global crude prices have soared past the $74-per-barrel mark.

Oil ministers from leading consuming nations such as the US, China, Japan and Korea as well as major producing countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Sudan, Nigeria and Venezuela will attend the meet.

Deora is accompanied by petroleum secretary M.S. Srinivasan, Indian Oil chairman S. Behuria, ONGC chairman Subir Raha and Petronet LNG managing director and CEO P. Dasgupta.